“When I joined the company in 1992, we used to talk about our mission as putting a PC in every home, and by the end of the decade we have done that, at least in the developed world,” Nadella told USA Today in an profile published on Monday. “It always bothered me that we confused an enduring mission with a temporal goal.”

Under Nadella, Microsoft has taken the focus off Windows and the PC and pinned its hopes to the rise of the Microsoft Azure and Office 365 cloud computing products, both of which are growing as its older businesses stagnate. While this approach hasn’t translated into huge revenue growth yet, it’s revitalized the company’s image.

For his part, Gates tells USA Today that he “[enjoys] working with” Nadella, serving his twice-removed successor as a special advisor, and helping guide the company’s investments into cutting-edge technology as it competes with Apple, Google, and Amazon.